Federated Department Stores

Robinsons-May at South Coast Plaza and Macy's Women's Store at Fashion Island begin final sales Jan. 29, purchaser announces.The beginning of the end for Newport-Mesa's Robinsons-May stores is set for Jan. 29. That is the day when clearance sales leading to the end of the Robinsons-May name are set to begin. Robinsons-May department stores are currently in business at Newport-Mesa's two biggest shopping centers, South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. However, the entire Robinsons-May brand is set to be phased out this year.

As the Irvine Co. begins demolition on the former Macy's women's store building in Fashion Island, the developer continues to make the Newport Beach shopping center even more attractive to shoppers. Irvine Co. spokesman Bill Rams said the company expects demolition on the 30-year-old building, which was the oldest building at the center, to take about two weeks. It began Tuesday. The construction shouldn't hinder parking or access to other shops. Construction on a new, oval-shaped piazza shopping area is expected to be finished late next year, he said.

A popular bookstore chain has found a new home at Fashion Island. Barnes & Noble is leaving its store near Edwards Island Theater and moving into a much larger space in the shopping center's Atrium Court. The move will triple the size of the bookstore and create more space to sell DVDs, CDs and lattes. "We've been in Fashion Island since 1993, and we've been looking to expand ? for quite some time," Manager Natalie Basmaciyan said. The chain's store model includes the new music and movies section, as well as an in-store cafe.

Federated Department Stores Inc. announced plans Tuesday to shed the Macy's Women's Store at Fashion Island, potentially leaving a significant vacancy at the Newport Beach shopping center. "We don't have a new retailer figured out for this store yet," Irvine Co. spokeswoman Jennifer Hieger said. The Newport Beach-based Irvine Co. owns Fashion Island. Hieger added that she has been informed that the Robinsons-May store at Fashion Island will be converted to a full-service Macy's store.

Andrew Edwards South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island representatives said Monday that it was too early to judge the multi-billion-dollar merger between two department store companies that own stores in each center, though executives at one of the firms alluded to possible store closures. Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores Inc., the country's largest department store company, announced Monday that it had agreed to purchase May Department Stores Co. for $11 billion in cash and stock.

Federated Department Stores Inc. announced plans Thursday to convert several Robinsons-May stores into Macy's stores. However, the Cincinnati-based company did not reveal its intentions for stores in Newport-Mesa. In March, Federated announced plans to buy St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co. in a $17-billion deal. Federated owns the Macy's chain and May owns Robinsons-May. Federated shed some light on the futures of several department stores by releasing plans to convert Robinsons-May stores into Macy's stores in 2006.

As the dust cleared after last weekend's holiday shopping extravaganzas at South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island, shops in both centers are reporting positive figures outdoing sales performances last year. A report released this week by the National Retail Federation reported retailers having a profitable Black Friday weekend — typically the day after Thanksgiving is considered the first official shopping day of the holiday season. And the national figures seem indicative of what happened in Newport-Mesa.

Newport-Mesa shoppers can expect to have a second Bloomingdale's store in the area. The company that owns the chain recently announced plans to set up a Bloomingdale's at South Coast Plaza. Federated Department Stores, based in Cincinnati, announced the plans for Costa Mesa on Tuesday. Federated executives intend to change the South Coast Plaza Robinsons-May store to a Bloomingdale's sometime next year, company spokesman Jim Sluzewski said. In general, Bloomingdale's offerings are more upscale than those sold at Robinsons-May stores.

Rows of unused Chanel lipsticks, neatly folded Armani dress shirts and colorful Cosabella lingerie await shoppers at today's grand opening of Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza, the 39th location to join the upscale department store chain. The nearly 300,000-squarefoot store is the largest of six Southern California locations. Standing only seven miles from its Newport Beach counterpart, the South Coast Plaza Bloomingdale's offers a vast selection of apparel and accessories for men, women, young adults and children, as well as a home store, a wedding registry and an "At Your Service" personal shopping department.

Can you keep track? I can't. Every once in a while, they change the names of all the department stores and supermarkets, for some reason. There must be an office somewhere that does this stuff. Department stores, supermarkets and Shirley MacLaine -- it's impossible to keep up with who they are from one day to the next. In the latest name-spasms, the Robinsons-May stores in South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island -- which used to be called Robinson's but I guess that wasn't good enough -- are nearing the end of their time on earth.

Rows of unused Chanel lipsticks, neatly folded Armani dress shirts and colorful Cosabella lingerie await shoppers at today's grand opening of Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza, the 39th location to join the upscale department store chain. The nearly 300,000-squarefoot store is the largest of six Southern California locations. Standing only seven miles from its Newport Beach counterpart, the South Coast Plaza Bloomingdale's offers a vast selection of apparel and accessories for men, women, young adults and children, as well as a home store, a wedding registry and an "At Your Service" personal shopping department.

As the Irvine Co. begins demolition on the former Macy's women's store building in Fashion Island, the developer continues to make the Newport Beach shopping center even more attractive to shoppers. Irvine Co. spokesman Bill Rams said the company expects demolition on the 30-year-old building, which was the oldest building at the center, to take about two weeks. It began Tuesday. The construction shouldn't hinder parking or access to other shops. Construction on a new, oval-shaped piazza shopping area is expected to be finished late next year, he said.

As the dust cleared after last weekend's holiday shopping extravaganzas at South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island, shops in both centers are reporting positive figures outdoing sales performances last year. A report released this week by the National Retail Federation reported retailers having a profitable Black Friday weekend — typically the day after Thanksgiving is considered the first official shopping day of the holiday season. And the national figures seem indicative of what happened in Newport-Mesa.

A popular bookstore chain has found a new home at Fashion Island. Barnes & Noble is leaving its store near Edwards Island Theater and moving into a much larger space in the shopping center's Atrium Court. The move will triple the size of the bookstore and create more space to sell DVDs, CDs and lattes. "We've been in Fashion Island since 1993, and we've been looking to expand ? for quite some time," Manager Natalie Basmaciyan said. The chain's store model includes the new music and movies section, as well as an in-store cafe.

Can you keep track? I can't. Every once in a while, they change the names of all the department stores and supermarkets, for some reason. There must be an office somewhere that does this stuff. Department stores, supermarkets and Shirley MacLaine -- it's impossible to keep up with who they are from one day to the next. In the latest name-spasms, the Robinsons-May stores in South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island -- which used to be called Robinson's but I guess that wasn't good enough -- are nearing the end of their time on earth.

Robinsons-May at South Coast Plaza and Macy's Women's Store at Fashion Island begin final sales Jan. 29, purchaser announces.The beginning of the end for Newport-Mesa's Robinsons-May stores is set for Jan. 29. That is the day when clearance sales leading to the end of the Robinsons-May name are set to begin. Robinsons-May department stores are currently in business at Newport-Mesa's two biggest shopping centers, South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. However, the entire Robinsons-May brand is set to be phased out this year.

Newport-Mesa shoppers can expect to have a second Bloomingdale's store in the area. The company that owns the chain recently announced plans to set up a Bloomingdale's at South Coast Plaza. Federated Department Stores, based in Cincinnati, announced the plans for Costa Mesa on Tuesday. Federated executives intend to change the South Coast Plaza Robinsons-May store to a Bloomingdale's sometime next year, company spokesman Jim Sluzewski said. In general, Bloomingdale's offerings are more upscale than those sold at Robinsons-May stores.

Federated Department Stores Inc. announced plans Tuesday to shed the Macy's Women's Store at Fashion Island, potentially leaving a significant vacancy at the Newport Beach shopping center. "We don't have a new retailer figured out for this store yet," Irvine Co. spokeswoman Jennifer Hieger said. The Newport Beach-based Irvine Co. owns Fashion Island. Hieger added that she has been informed that the Robinsons-May store at Fashion Island will be converted to a full-service Macy's store.

Federated Department Stores Inc. announced plans Thursday to convert several Robinsons-May stores into Macy's stores. However, the Cincinnati-based company did not reveal its intentions for stores in Newport-Mesa. In March, Federated announced plans to buy St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co. in a $17-billion deal. Federated owns the Macy's chain and May owns Robinsons-May. Federated shed some light on the futures of several department stores by releasing plans to convert Robinsons-May stores into Macy's stores in 2006.

Andrew Edwards South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island representatives said Monday that it was too early to judge the multi-billion-dollar merger between two department store companies that own stores in each center, though executives at one of the firms alluded to possible store closures. Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores Inc., the country's largest department store company, announced Monday that it had agreed to purchase May Department Stores Co. for $11 billion in cash and stock.